The present invention relates to a coin dispensing mechanism, particularly but not exclusively for dispensing coins laterally from an end of a stack. The present invention further relates to a coin dispenser having a plurality of such tubes and coin dispensing mechanisms.
An example of a coin dispenser with lateral dispensing tubes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,535. This dispenser has a motor and drive mechanism which can dispense coins from either of two adjacent tubes. However, the layout of the drive mechanisms of this and other prior art dispensers places a limit on the packing density of coin tubes in the dispenser. As a result, the coin capacity of such a dispenser of fixed total volume is limited. Moreover, the possible relative positions of the coin tubes are limited by such mechanisms, giving reduced flexibility in the overall design of the dispenser.
Another example is disclosed in EP-A-903702. This dispenser has an electric motor, planetary gear mechanism and dispensing disc, with holes for receiving coins arranged around its circumference, all coaxially arranged. Although this device aims to reduce the horizontal extent of the dispensing mechanism, the dispensing disc imposes a horizontal spacing between the coins and the motor and gear mechanism.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin dispensing mechanism for dispensing coins laterally from a tube, comprising a dispensing member for engaging a coin and dispensing it from the tube, a motor and a drive mechanism for connecting the motor to the dispensing member, the motor and drive mechanism being substantially bounded by the projection of the outer walls of the tube along the axis of the tube. Preferably, the motor is aligned substantially coaxially with the tube.
An advantage of this arrangement is that the relative positions of the tubes within a housing or bounded area can be selected freely, subject only to allowing room for coins to be dispensed from the tube. Another advantage is that the tubes can be positioned close together without their drive mechanisms and/or motors impinging on each other.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a coin dispenser comprising a plurality of coin storage tubes, and a respective plurality of motors each associated with a respective one of the tubes so as to dispense coins only from the associated tube. An advantage of this arrangement is that the relative positions of two or more tubes are not governed by any common drive mechanism.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin dispenser having a dispensing aperture, and a plurality of coin storage tubes arranged such that the intersections of their axes with a horizontal plane lie on an arc, the tubes having lateral dispensing slots arranged approximately equidistantly from the edge of the dispensing aperture. This arrangement may provide efficient packing of the tubes around the dispensing aperture.